Supernova remnants as particle accelerators and probes of the circumstellar medium

Abstract

Although the night sky may look static on a regular night, apart from the rising moon and the occasional shooting star, a closer look and different timescales reveal that this is certainly not the case. Similar to daily life around us, stars, galaxies and the universe have life-cycles of their own. Stars that are more massive than about eight times our Sun end their lifes as a supernova: the explosion of the star. What is left of the star is a compact core, taking the form of a neutron star or a black hole, and the expelled material, called the supernova remnant. The supernova remnant releases and creates the elements that are essential for life on Earth. This thesis discusses the evolution of supernova remnants, and their role in particle acceleration